Production on the second season of The Witcher came to a halt a few months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but how has the situation affected the development of the fantasy series?
Well, since we know that the crew is going back in August to continue filming, we can expect the show to keep up with Netflix’s originally intended release date, roughly speaking. And the next chapter, adapting Blood of Elves, the first novel in the five-part saga, will be one hell of a ride. For one thing, new Witchers are joining Geralt’s story, and now that the two main characters are together, we can expect the narrative to follow a more linear path, which opens the door to all sorts of exciting possibilities about how Lauren S. Hissrich and her team will handle the story and characterizations of the White Wolf, his ward Princess Cirilla, and his lover Yennefer of Vengerberg.
But how will the current pandemic affect the next season and its productions? Well, according to what the showrunner recently revealed, the ramifications are inevitable, but it’s also presented them with a huge advantage.
“It’s going to impact the story. It will have to. But one of the best things about being a writer on set is that I’m there to make those changes as we need them. Really, in terms of writing, we’ve just been honing a lot over the last eight weeks. Really digging back into scripts, making some big shifts, especially in the emotional journeys of our characters and making sure that everything we’re writing feels really grounded and true,” She said.
The production company is obviously taking all the necessary precautions to avoid an outbreak on set, especially since they already came close to having one after Kristofer Hivju, one of the newest additions to the cast, contracted the disease in March.
Meanwhile, we’ve heard that Netflix is already thinking of developing a spinoff series around The Witcher, which will delve deeper into the history of the Continent. All things considered, then, the future seems bright for the Rivian monster-hunter on the small screen.